


Beautiful Dream

by Sqrlbrd



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Original Character(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-08 20:28:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8859886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sqrlbrd/pseuds/Sqrlbrd
Summary: Izayoi never thought that she would be different. She was aware of what her life would be and she accepted it. That is, until she met a certain dog demon...





	1. Chapter 1

_The night is darkening round me,_  
_The wild winds coldly blow;_  
_But a tyrant spell has bound me,_  
_And I cannot, cannot go._  
  
_The giant trees are bending_  
_Their bare boughs weighed with snow;_  
_The storm is fast descending,_  
_And yet I cannot go._  
  
_Clouds beyond clouds above me,_  
_Wastes beyond wastes below;_  
_But nothing drear can move me:_  
_I will not, cannot go._  
_~ Emily Bronte_  
  
The sky outside was dark and gloomy, glowing with an almost otherworldly green light. Izayoi sat in the doorway of her room feet playing against the dry earth. She watched as the trees on the other side of the palace wall began to toss their heads in protest of the coming storm. Gradually the temperature began to drop and a faint drizzle began to fall, lightly soaking her layers of her juni-hitoe. She began to hum a childhood song as the rain picked up and fell harder and harder, the tune making an eerie counterpoint to the low howling of the wind. For once she was content.  
  
Normally she was so busy in the closed confines of the palace that she rarely got a few precious moments to watch the world around her. But for once her lessons and duties fell by the wayside as she simply lived, feeling her heart fill with joy. Because of the rain she was alone except for the guards which were stationed throughout the compound to ensure her family’s safety. It was blissful- the smell of the air and the wind like an exotic perfume which permeated every cell of her body. She loved the rain.  
  
Then something strange caught her attention. It was a low echoing sound, mournful and haunting almost like a flute. If it was a flute, it was like one she had never heard before. The strangest thing about it was the way it echoed the song she had been lowly singing to herself just moments before. Perhaps someone else was out there on this night thinking the same thoughts and feeling the same longing in their heart? How strange. The sound entranced her, filled her with emotions she didn’t know and a longing so deep and wide she was stunned by it’s strength. As quickly as the flute’s song had begun, the long mournful notes stopped- leaving behind only the sound of the rain and the quick beating of her heart.  
  
This moment of stillness was not meant to last for long. She heard the inner door of her room slide open as light footsteps began to approach her.  
  
“Lady Izayoi….. Lady Izayoi!”  
  
The worried call of her attendants broke her concentration. Wearily Izayoi slipped off her sandals and stood within the confines of her room. A soft smile graced her face as she slowly turned to face her servants Hina and Misaki. Their scowling faces didn’t do a thing to dampen her mood.  
  
“I know, not the most princess like behavior.” Izayoi said with a slight laugh, holding up her hand in an effort to head off the protests that she knew were coming. “I couldn’t help myself. Look at how beautiful the land that the kami has blessed us with is… It would be unfitting to not honor their blessing with a few moments of contemplation.”  
  
 She knew that her words had had no impact on her upset attendants when their scowling faces didn’t lighten at all.  
  
“Izayoi-sama, you know very well that although it is perfectly acceptable for you to appreciate nature it is not acceptable to do it outside in the pouring rain. You could get sick and then where would you be? Not to mention I have a feeling you were ‘contemplating’ for far more than a few moments and you’ve ruined your clothing.” Misaki said with a dark look, her brown eyes filled with disapproval. Misaki was quite obviously not in the mood to deal with any unseemly behavior today. Her fingers were twitching at her side in irritation as she made her way closer to Izayoi to help her change out of the soaked layers.  
  
Misaki’s long black hair and sharp features cast dark shadows in the lamplight of Izayoi's room. Her beauty was impossible to miss, even with the annoyed scowl on her face as she helped divest Izayoi of the weight of her soaked clothing. Izayoi sighed and stepping out of her cold, wet clothes began to dry herself off with the towel Hina passed her.  
  
“I’m sorry Misaki, Hina, I didn’t intend to be out there so long. I know how hard you work and the last thing I want to do is to make more work for you two, I just-”  here she paused not sure how to describe what she had heard. “There was something out there in the rain and it made the most beautiful music.”  
  
Misaki and Hina glanced up in alarm at her words. There was a soft thud as Hina dropped the garments had in her hands and quickly moved to her lady’s side.  
  
“What do you mean there is something out there?” she said with fear, her face looking almost painfully young in the lamplight.  
  
“I probably just imagined it,” replied Izayoi, eager to dissuade Misaki and Hina of their apprehension. “For a moment, I could of sworn I heard a flute out there in the rain. It played the most beautiful song.”  
  
Misaki snorted in amusement at this. “Lady Izayoi, day dreaming again?”  
  
 She relaxed, chuckling softly at Misaki’s remark. Misaki was one of her oldest companions and well known for her practical nature and intelligence. If she thought that the music was her imagination than it probably was.  
  
Misaki had always been around Izayoi, from the time she could remember. Misaki had been a presence at her father’s court on and off for her entire life. Misaki’s father had been a close friend of Izayoi’s father and fought next to him in battle many times. After the death of his friend, Izayoi’s father took Misaki as his ward in honor of his friend’s memory. Misaki had been her attendant ever since. However, it was unclear how much longer she would remain with her. She was at the age of marriage, and the moment that Izayoi’s father decided on a husband, Misaki would leave to go to her new home. Izayoi cherished every moment with Misaki because she never knew when it would be her last.  
  
Hana whined in irritation, no longer scared as the mood of the room lifted. “We’ll be late to dinner at this rate and I wanted to talk to Hitoshi. He’s so handsome…” she said dreamily.  
  
Much like Misaki, Hina was present at the palace to find a husband. Unlike Misaki, she was much less serious about it. Hina had traveled to the court of Izayoi’s father in order to meet and get to know the young men that surrounded the daimyo. It would be these men that would rise to power in the future and as the youngest daughter of a moderately known samurai, she needed any edge she could get to make an advantageous match in the future. Unfortunately, was young at only fifteen and didn’t seem to recognize the fact that her future depended on making a positive impression. She was beautiful as well with soft brown hair and hazel eyes and used it to her advantage. She loved to flirt with the men of the court and wasn’t extremely picky about which man she had the chance to flirt with. She flittered from man to man as a butterfly flies from flower to flower, staying but a moment before moving on, soaking in the attention. Despite those faults however, to her, Hina was like a breath of fresh air in the constricting atmosphere of the palace. Hina was sweet and kind, normally wearing a care-free smile and willing to lighten any room. She was a wonderful attendant to have if a bit naieve and prone to dramatics. Hina was young though, she would learn.  
  
“I’ll bet we have to sit in the corner now, while he sits next to some other gorgeous woman. I’ll never get the chance to talk to him at this rate! Hitoshi will be stolen away before I get the chance to win his heart!” Hina exclaimed as she waved her hands dramatically before moving to bring a fresh dry juni-hitoe over.  

Izayoi inwardly gave a sigh of resignation as she slowly placed the layers of her court clothing on with the help of her attendants. The soft melancholy feeling that arose in her as she listened to the music in the rain was quickly being replaced with the hard reality of her position.  
  
For the past seventeen years, she had learned the mannerisms and attitudes that befitted a princess. She had had her lessons drilled into her until she no longer had any problem hiding her true thoughts and feelings. It was time for her to return to her duties and her place as an ornament of the court. Her time of contemplation was over. She couldn’t help spare a wistful thought for the lost moment though, for a moment she had felt something she couldn’t put her finger on. Something powerful. Something different.  
  
Once she had completely donned her new dry juni-hitoe, she left her room to attend dinner accompanied by her two companions. They arrived at the doors leading to the dining hall later than Izayoi had hoped.  “Mother’s not going to be happy,” was her last thought as the serving woman in the hall gently slid open the door, allowing Izayoi and her attendants to enter the room.  
________________________________________________________________  
  
The dining hall was austere but in an intentional way. Strategically placed flower arrangements and a few wall hangings were the only adornment in the room. Izayoi’s father and his advisers were already seated- along with her mother Hiromi, and her two brothers Hideyoshi and Yoshiro. The entire Takahashi family was in attendance.  
  
Izayoi’s mother gave her a look of disapproval as she made her way over to her empty place at the family table. She knew she was late but for some reason couldn’t make herself feel badly for her tardiness. She shot a small smile back at her mother and gracefully sat down next to her younger brother Yoshiro.  
  
Yoshiro was seven years old and the darling of the court. His glossy black hair and black eyes only added to the natural charm of his youth. He was a loving and caring child, if a little spoiled due to the constant attention that was part of his life. He looked up at Izayoi when she sat down with an adoring smile. He knew better than to interrupt his father’s conversation with his advisors to greet his sister, so he pretended to stretch his arm and grasped his sister’s hand, squeezing it tightly. After that initial contact he retracted his small hand and returned to eating his food. Although Yoshiro was young and much like all seven year olds a little antsy when forced to sit still for long periods of time, he knew how to behave politely when necessary.  
  
She ate her dinner with small bites and no conversation. She sat as elegantly as she knew how and ate quietly in an effort to make up for her late arrival. Eventually her mother’s lips no longer twisted slightly in disapproval when glancing at her daughter and she began to relax a bit.  
  
Her father and his counselors were deep in conversation about trade routes and the amount of protection necessary for caravans when traveling across the Takahashi lands. The discussion became quite animated at one point when one of the counselors described the desolation left behind from a bandit attack that had decimated one of the caravans that he had invested a great deal of his fortune in.  
  
“Lord Takahashi, you must believe me! There weren’t big enough pieces of the men to identify the bodies. These bandits are brutal; they care nothing for the dead or the living. They remind me more of demons than men. In fact I expected it to be a demon attack until the local miko said that it definitely wasn’t the work of demons. The carnage was incredible! And don’t even get me started on what little remained of the merchandise….”  
  
The counselor stood for emphasis and raised his voice.  
  
“Those bandits are a menace that must be dealt with immediately! Who knows who they will go after next? It could be any one of us. They are becoming much too bold, they must be destroyed!”  
  
Lord Takahashi gave a stony smile and said calmly and deliberately, “Kiyoshi. Can you please sit down so we can discuss this politely? Some things should be discussed in a more proper setting.”  The daimyo’s words were heavy with warning and promise. The offending counselor sat abruptly, as if his legs had lost their strength.

“Of course, I’m sorry Lord Takahashi. Forgive my impoliteness. My actions were unworthy of your company. My soul has just been moved for the plight of those poor men who sacrificed their lives for my benefit.”  
  
Her father smiled warmly, “Of course, all is forgiven.” Then, directing his attention to the entire hall he proclaimed, “I do believe that I will retire now. Thank you for the meal.”

With that statement he calmly rose and stalked out of the room, his counselors following him like chicks following their mother. Dinner was over.  
________________________________________________________________

  
Izayoi relaxed in her futon, feeling her muscles relax and unwind. Her day had been much like any other. Nothing was different- nothing was new. She could feel the weight of her life pressing down on her body, making her long for her dreams where she could find some form of freedom.  
      
It was not that she felt like her life was bad. She knew that she had been blessed beyond measure by the kami. She felt their goodwill in every part of her life and she would never deny their goodness to her. She just felt caged, locked in routine. She had been living a certain way for so long that she was afraid she would remain this way forever. Her duties and responsibilities as the daimyo’s daughter weighed on her.  
  
Today it was her father’s house and sometime in the near future it would be the house of some lord her father wanted to reward or impress. She was property, she knew that. She was a pawn to her family’s will. She was bound by the ropes of familial duty and love and those were bonds that she would never forsake.  
  
If that was her fate so be it. She would find some way to become content, and most of the time she was content with her lot in life. Sometimes though, sometimes something told her that she could have a different fate. Sometimes, she felt a call like the song she had heard as she sat in the rain before dinner. She had felt in that moment that there was something so vast-so great she could almost touch it calling her. Earlier she had been unable to describe what that feeling was, but she now thought that she might possibly be beginning to understand. She knew something was about to change. There was something bigger waiting for her and it was coming towards her faster than she could possibly imagine.


	2. Chapter 2

Izayoi’s palanquin bounced roughly back and forth as the bearers struggled to make their way down the road. So far from the city the roadway had disintegrated into a rough path surrounded by arching trees. They were no longer in polite civilization.

Her muscles had begun to cramp from holding herself still for so long and had been protesting their treatment for the last hour with sharp shoots of pain. She had longed for something different but this wasn’t exactly as wonderful as she had expected. The place where she was headed was not where she longed to go. It wasn’t as if she knew exactly what she wanted, but she did know was that this was not a fate that she looked forward to. Her father had been firm despite her protests, it was time for her to put aside childish things and grow into the woman that he had raised her to be. She filled a needed purpose and it was time for her to serve her kingdom.

At least she wasn’t alone. Misaki had been left behind. Lord Takahashi had made it clear to his ward that she would not be accompanying his daughter. It was about time for her to be married and she was to remain at the court. Hina, however, was young enough that Izayoi’s father would let her leave. At least Izayoi had her…

There was a bump and another spark of pain shot up her cramped leg. She wanted to get out of the damned palanquin. She needed to get out. After many hours of travel she needed to stop and breathe fresh air again and have a break from all of her thoughts.

She hadn’t heard any shouted warnings from the guards in a while and she didn’t know how much longer she could take the cramped conditions. A quiet whimper from Hina caused Izayoi to glance up quickly in her direction. Seeing the look of pain flutter across Hina’s face made up her mind- they could not remain like this any longer.

“Halt!” She cried out, silently sighing in relief as the bumpy ride came to a stop. Slowly she stepped out of the palanquin, stretching her abused legs and arms. Carefully holding the folds of her traveling kimono out of the mud she took a few steps forward so Hina could join her outside of the palanquin.

Pounding hoof beats headed towards her broke her out of her thoughts of relief. Slowly she turned to the guard who dismounted and approached her with a hard look on his face.

“Princess Izayoi, we cannot stay stopped for much longer. These woods are not the place to take a break and tarry any longer than needed. We must continue.”

She glanced around her at the trees and then turned her sights back to the irate guard. “Of course,” she replied smoothly “but at least allow us a minute longer to stretch. My lady and I have been in that cramped palanquin the entire day, surely five minutes outside of its confines won’t cause any harm?”

Hina came up behind Izayoi and grabbed her hand. Looking up at the guard with a simper on her face she begged, “Please? We have been in there very long and it will only be for a couple minutes!” The guard gave Hina a look of exasperation before it melted and finally he nodded his assent.

“Only a couple more minutes. This area is not the most ideal place to stop. The road is too narrow for us to completely protect you. Enjoy your freedom while you have it.”

He stalked away from the palanquin, pommel in hand to go talk to the other samurai in the group.

Hina gave a quick twirl, hands outstretched and head turned up to the sky. “Lady Izayoi, I’m so happy we got to go on this trip! Today is wonderful!”

Izayoi tolerantly shook her head in agreement and glanced towards the woods.

Leaves were gently falling from the trees surrounding the road, painting the ground in colorful red and orange. A soft cool breeze was blowing, though it was by no means cold outside. Twilight was coming and as the sun slowly began to set into the mountains still some distance from her, the sky above her began to turn a beautiful pink.

Izayoi began to question the choice to stop as the woods around her began to look more and more ominous with the fading light. She had a bad feeling, something was not right. She could almost swear that there were figures dancing in the corner of her sight, flitting from tree to tree. She knew that it was mostly in her mind, just another daydream. The shadows of the leaves shifting in the wind… but she still could not rid herself of her anxiety.

Quickly, she grabbed Hina’s hand and marched her back to the palanquin, despite Hina’s protests. As she began pushing the wooden door of the palanquin open she heard a shout.

“Bandits!”

Gurgles of pain and the sound of drawn swords rang through the forest and straight into her ears.

“Quickly!” she snapped at Hina, pushing her into the palanquin. Climbing in after her and shutting the door tight she hugged the trembling girl and prayed that they would be fine. The clash of swords and the twang of loosed arrows permeated the walls of the palanquin, as did the cries of the dying men.

Something struck the wall of the palanquin and the Izayoi heard the thud of a body as it slid down across the wall. Hina was crying in fear, trembling in her arms.

It was an odd feeling. This was the first time in Izayoi’s life that she had ever been in danger. She knew she should be just as afraid as Hina. She also knew that deep inside she was terrified, but she still had a clear head. She would deal with whatever fate dealt her and only after would she allow herself the luxury of expressing her fear.

The door of the palanquin began to open as the noise of battle continued. A hand with dirt encrusted nails and boils darted in and grabbed Hina’s ankle. Hina screamed in terror and started to kick at the hand. Izayoi heard cursing and another hand joined the first, prying open the door to their refuge.

The door was thrust open and she could see the gap-toothed grinning face of their attacker and the leering face of his friend. The gap-toothed man yanked Hina out of the palanquin and onto the muddy ground. She could see the corpses of her father’s men lying on the ground around them, blood pooling beneath their bodies. It was still light enough outside to illuminate every gory detail.

“Princess Izayoi!” frantically cried one of her father’s samurai over the sound of clashing steel and moans of pain as he saw the men in the entrance to the palanquin.

“So they’re not all lost!” Izayoi thought to herself as she readied herself for the assault. Surely, it just looks bad. They took poor sweet Hina, but they would not take her! She would just have to hold the man off long enough for the guards to get to her.

She fought her attacker as hard as she could. She braced herself against the wall of the palanquin and kicked out with her feet, trying to hit her attacker in the face. If she would be taken, they would have to fight! She bit and clawed, kicked and punched to no avail. The leering man grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the floor with his weight. When she wouldn’t stop struggling, he let go of her with one hand and used it to punch her in the stomach. He hit her again and again until she laid still.

Dimly she could hear that Hina was still crying out in fear. As she was pulled from the palanquin she watched as the gap-toothed man picked Hina up and carried her to an unmanned horse, setting her over the saddle and climbing up behind her.

She laid curled up in the mud, still stunned from the blows from the man’s fists. Pain shot through her abdomen as she gathered her energy and found the strength to strike out one last time, trying to wriggle herself free to crawl underneath the palanquin and escape into the woods on the other side. The leering man laughed at this last attack and struck her in the face. He pulled her limp form up from the ground and half dragging, her half carrying her, walked towards his companions where they waited.

The bandit manhandled her onto a horse, laying her across the front of the beast like a sack of grain and she could feel the hard saddle poking painfully into her side.

Izayoi knew that she and Hina were in great danger and as the horses began to move, all she could see was the muddy ground soaked in red blood.


	3. Chapter 3

The stink of sweat and unwashed bodies was almost unbearable as Izayoi was carried away from her guards on the back of a ragged old nag. She could feel all her bones jar against one another with every step the horse took. The bandit’s saddle rubbed against her side painfully. As the ride continued on, she could only pray that it would not be a long one. The leering man led the ragged horse through the woods, Izayoi could see bandits making their way in the same general direction out of the corner of her eye.

After a few minutes, the horse had arrived at the bandits’ camp. The camp was situated by a cave in a cliff, hidden away by an outcropping of rock that blocked the majority of the forest from sight. There was a spring next to the cliff, bubbling cheerfully in sharp contrast to the rest of the camp. Men wearing ragged clothing and rusty armor made their way around the camp, gathering wood and water and gambling for the spoils obtained from Izayoi’s retinue.  Course comments and lewd laughter greeted Izayoi and Hina’s entrance as gap-tooth and leerer made their way to the picket lines. She was hauled down from the horse and unceremoniously dumped by the fire pit next to Hina.

Hina was quietly sobbing into her knees. The bandits had not bothered to tie the two girls up for the time being, which was a small blessing that she thanked the kami for. Izayoi knelt next to Hina, desperately checking her to make sure that she had not suffered a serious injury. Hina’s kimono was drenched with mud and blood and her hair was matted with filth where the bandit had grabbed it and yanked her out of the palanquin and towards the horse. Bruises colored her wrists and face and that was just her visible skin.

Izayoi didn’t want to see what she looked like. She knew that she was probably just as bad or worse than Hina. A painful ache constantly throbbed against her side where it had rubbed against the pommel of the saddle, that pain could not compare to her stomach though where the leering man had hit her until she stopped fighting. Dully she looked down at her hands, only to see her fingernails torn and missing.

Her hands looked radically different from earlier that day. Earlier, they had been a princesses hands. White and soft with neatly trimmed nails. Now they looked like they had been through a war.

Hina was still crying, small whimpers of pain fighting through her sobbing.

“Shut up, ya bitch!” One of the bandits who was currently gambling yelled out. His buddies laughed and nudged each other.

“Can’t handle a women crying?” One of them asked, his voice scornful.

“O’ course I can, doesn’t mean I like it though.” The bandit replied resentfully. “ I like my women quiet, quiet as the grave.” He gave a few sniggers and turned back to his game.

“Don’t worry,” The leering man replied. “You’ll get your wish soon enough if we can’t get ransom for these two.”

Izayoi’s eyes went wide and her thoughts raced. Surely her father would pay the ransom! Or her…. never mind that, she would be free! But how long would it take for word to get to her father, much less the money?

She glanced around the camp, searching for anything that might indicate their fate while they waited for the ransom. She noticed that there were only two women in the camp, dirty and clothed in rags they were chopping vegetables and washing rice, obviously preparing a meal for the bandits.

Both of the women seemed more like wild animals than actual humans. They quickly scampered from place to place and seemed huddled in on themselves. They never looked up, not even once and seemed to flinch at every noise.

She didn’t want to become like them. She was the daughter of a daimyo and she would act as such. She would be lying however if she said that she wasn’t afraid of what made those two women look so beaten down.

The bandit’s women approached the fire and placed a kettle over it. They then started making a soupy rice substance for dinner.

She thanked the kami that the men were too busy gambling and drinking to pay any attention to her and Hina.

She was staring into the flames when she heard a soft whisper. “Lady?” Startled Izayoi looked over at the smaller women who had been washing the rice earlier.

“Lady?” The women asked again, her voice strained and desperate.

“Yes?” She replied softly, quietly moving a bit closer to the smaller women.

The woman sneakily handed her a small piece of bread. “You and the other girl, eat that. They’ll not feed you.” Izayoi smiled in thanks.  The woman gave a quick look around and glanced at her counterpart who was currently fixing the meal. “Watch out for Nanako, she’ll do anything to escape a beating. Don’t cross her. You must be careful. Right now the men are happy, but once they get a little more drink in ‘em you and that girl better watch out.”

Izayoi was puzzled, what more could her captors do? They had slaughtered her guards, kidnapped her and Hina, and now they were ransoming her father for an extortionate amount of gold. “What will they do?”

The smaller women closed her eyes, shuddered, and replied softly, “Just because they’ll return you after the ransom, it doesn’t mean that you have to be in perfect condition. Do you understand?”

Izayoi shook her head in fear. She had always been sheltered within walls of her father’s fortress. She had heard whispers from some of the serving women now and again of horrible things that could happen, but she wasn’t sure exactly what those things were. No one would explain to the daimyo’s daughter of the cruelties of men. Even those whispers though, were enough to tell her that whatever this woman was implying might happen to her and Hina was horrific. Quickly she turned to the woman and replied.

“Don’t tell Hina, I don’t believe that she could bear it if she knew like this. I’ll let her know later.” Then, Izayoi gave a small sad smile. “Thank you for your bravery. I will remember your kindness.” The woman gave a quick nod. Izayoi realized that she had one more question to ask.

“Tell me, what is your name?” The woman paused and stared into the distance and then quickly replied.

“My name is Aya, now be careful and hope they forget about you.” Aya turned back towards the fire and continued her work.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction. I began it on fanfiction.net years ago and recently, after going back over some of my old writing, have decided to give it a second shot. Please be kind!


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